Media Resources

Media Resources

Within this page, you will learn about OCS and our communities, download our fact sheet, watch and request video footage of selected OCS events, and access our logo and other media assests.

To contact us for more information, for an interview, or to receive OCS press releases or other notifications of OCS activities as they become available, please complete our contract form on this page and tell us what you’re looking for. We’d love to hear from you.

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Resources on this page include:

Mission statement

Orgins of OCS

Founder bio

Facts and figures

OCS community structure

List of OCS communities

Colin Powell Award

Awards received

Quotes

Logo

Video clips

Mission of OCS

Our Community Salutes (OCS) is a national, non-profit 501c3 organization helping communities honor and support high school seniors enlisting in the U.S. Armed Services after graduation.

OCS helps communities provide guidance, resources and community support to high school guidance counselors, service recruiters, enlistees and to their parents as their son or daughter transition into military service.

Origins of OCS

OCS was founded in 2009 by Dr. Kenneth Hartman, educator and former U.S. Army officer. Hartman was inspired to create OCS while serving on his county’s Public Schools Board of Education, where he noticed the growing disparity between the recognition provided to students who were going college following graduation compared to the students who were choosing to serve in the Armed Services.

In 2007, while serving on the Cherry Hill Public Schools Board of Education in southern New Jersey, Hartman realized the disproportionate amount of honors being provided to the students attending college after graduation and the lack of recognition for those who were choosing to serve in the military. Two years later, Hartman would found OCS and provide the first recognition ceremony with OCS of South Jersey for high school students choosing to serve their country after graduation.

In a 2016 interview with Robin Beres of the Richmond-Times Dispatch, Hartman explained why OCS is so important to the teachers and families and communities OCS supports. For Beres, Hartman “recounted the story of a young man named Jeremy Kane who graduated from Cherry Hill East High School in 2006. After high school, Kane joined the Marine Corps Reserves on Sept. 11, 2006. His unit deployed to Iraq in 2009. He was killed in action on Jan. 20, 2010. Hartman noted that while Kane’s high school put a tribute to the fallen Marine on the school marquee and the town’s funeral procession for the hero was miles long, the thanks came too late. The tribute should be given to those who volunteer to serve before they go in harm’s way.”

Founder – Dr. Kenneth Hartman

Dr. Ken HartmanFounder and President of Our Community Salutes

Dr. Kenneth Hartman is an e-learning authority, former university professor, administrator, consultant at several leading universities, and the founder of Our Community Salutes.

Dr. Hartman served as president of Drexel University Online, and has served on several boards, including the Board of Education of the Cherry Hill Public Schools (NJ) and the Executive Board of the Online Learning Consortium. He is the author of numerous trade and scholarly publications related to educational technology, a presenter at industry conferences, a syndicated newspaper columnist, television talk show host, and was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.

Dr. Hartman holds degrees from The State University of New York at Geneseo, a MA from Michigan State University, and a Ph.D from the University of Pennsylvania.

OCS by the Numbers

Since 2009, more than 60 OCS communities in 20 states and in Puerto Rico have honored graduates who have committed to join all branches of the U.S. Armed Services.

OCS communities have more than 192 OCS Enlistment Recognition Ceremonies™, carrying forward our mission to honor and recognize high school graduates who chose to join the 1% of Americans who currently serve in uniform.

OCS estimates more than 10,000 graduating high school seniors have been honored in front of more than 100,000 attendees from the communty who typically include: familiy, friends, veterans, business owners, members of military recruiting community, high school teachers and guidence counselors, local media, and state and federal government officials including governors, lieutenant governers, congressman and senators.

OCS Communities

Since Our Community Salutes was founded in 2009 with our inaugural OCS South Jersey Community, OCS enlistee recognition ceremonies have been held by local communities in banquet halls, auditoriums and sports arenas from New York to California, with tens of thousands of people attending or speaking at OCS ceremonies, a testimony to the appreciation of the young men and women of OCS entering military service.

The organizing body of Our Community Salutes includes community leaders, government officials, educators, businessmen, and veterans who feel strongly in the importance of community support and recognition of the courageous and patriotic young adults who will serve in the U.S. Armed Services after graduation.

All local OCS recognition ceremonies are independently led, managed and financed by donations from supporting citizens and sponsorships by organizations within their respective community.Current and former OCS communities include the following:

State

Community

Alabama

OCS of Montgomery

California

OCS of Oak Hills

Conneticut

OCS of Bristol OCS of Fairfield OCS of Hamden OCS of Southington OCS of Waterford OCS of West Haven

Delaware

OCS of Delaware

Florida

OCS of Broward County OCS of Jacksonville OCS of Miami OCS of North Central OCS of Palm Beach County

Georgia

OCS of Atlanta

Hawaii

OCS of Honolulu

Louisiana

OCS of Baton Rouge OCS of Lafayette OCS of New Orleans OCS of Shreveport

Michigan

OCS of Detroit OCS of Jackson OCS of Southeast Michigan

State

Community

Mississippi

OCS of Jackson

New Jersey

OCS of Gloucester County OCS of South Jersey

New York

OCS of Brooklyn OCS of Conkin

Ohio

OCS of Northeast OH OCS of Tuscarawas County OH

Oregon

OCS of Portland

Pennsylvania

OCS of Philadelphia OCS of Pittsburgh

Puerto Rico

OCS of San Juan

Texas

OCS of Fort Bend County OCS of San Antonio

Virginia

OCS of Fredericksburg OCS of Northern VA

Washington

OCS of Vancouver & Clark County

Washington, DC

OCS of District of Columbia

Wisconsin

OCS of Wisconsin

OCS Colin Powell Award

The Colin Powell Award, named after General Colin Powell, U.S. Army (Ret.), is a public service award that is presented to high school counselors in recognition of providing guidance, counseling and mentoring for students as they assess their accomplishments, talents, and interests as they move forward in their lives. The award is provided to one guidance counselor in each local organization, and represents all counselors within the school’s program whose service, compassion, and commitment serve as an example for all of us. Since 2009, more than 53 awards have been provided in various OCS communities. For a list of award recipients, visit the awards section under About OCS.

Notable Awards for OCS

United States Army Recruiting Command

Dr. Ken Hartman receives award from the U.S. Army Recruiting Command on behalf of OCS.

“For your outstanding and unwavering support of our service members, their families, and recent enlistees from 2009 to present. Your successful collaboration of the”Our Community Salutes” program in partnership with our military liaisons, provided quality community support to the military’s newest enlistees. Your unmatched patriotism embodies the core values of a patriot in a true humanitarian, which reflects great credit upon yourself, the United States Army Recruiting Command, and the United States Army.”

Quotes and Comments

I am proud of the people in this room here today that are stepping forward, willing to serve this country, willing to wear the uniform…you will represent the heritage, the history, the dedication and the skill that are the armed forces today.

Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy

At a time when many of their peers are pursuing vocational training or college degrees, these young men and women have instead chosen to dedicate themselves to military service… It is thanks to their sacrifices that the United States of America remains a beacon of hope and freedom in a fractious world.